Energetic Bangladesh face Bhutan in the first semifinal of the seven-nation SAFF Women’s Championship scheduled to be held on Sunday, reports BSS.
The match kicks off at 1.45 pm Bangladesh time at Dasharath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Following the match, group ‘B’ champion also the host Nepal will meet group ‘A’ runners-up India in the second semifinal which will be held on the same day at 6.45 pm.
Bangladesh has shown a good brand of football so far in their group face matches and eventually emerged as the group ‘A’ champions.
Sabina and her team played out a 1-1 goal draw with Pakistan in their opening group match and beat five-time SAFF champions India by 3-1 goals in their second group match of the tournament.
This was the second consecutive win for Bangladesh against India in the SAFF Championship after defeating them by 3-0 goals in the last SAFF Women's Championship held in Kathmandu in 2022.
Forward Tohura Khatun, led from the front, scoring two goals against India match while Afeida Khandaker supported her with a lone goal to secure her team's comprehensive victory against India.
Bangladesh team head coach Peter Butler must be expecting the same performance from his girls in the semifinal match against Bhutan.
Despite the 1-3 goals defeat, India also reached the semifinal as the Group ‘A’ runners-up defeating their arch-rivals Pakistan by 5-2 goals in the tournament opener.
On the other hand, Bhutan, a comparatively different side than the last SAFF tournament, improved a lot and they may cause concern for Bangladesh.
In the Group B matches, Bhutan showed impressive performance forcing Nepal to play a goalless draw in their opening group match and beat Sri Lanka by 4-1 goals in their second group match.
They thrashed Maldives by 13-0 goals to finish as the group B runners-up, rode on a brilliant hat-trick by Bhutanese forward Deki Lhazom.
The final of the tournament will take place on October 30.
Bd-Pratidin English/ Afsar Munna
